The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday filed a law suit against BP (NYSE: BP) and eight other companies to pay for billions of dollars in damages that resulted from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill last summer.
The defendants named in the lawsuit include:
- BP Exploration and Production Inc.
- Anadarko Exploration & Production LP
- Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: APC)
- MOEX Offshore 2007 LLC
- Triton Asset Leasing GMBH
- Transocean Holdings LLC
- Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling Inc.
- Transocean Deepwater Inc.
- QBE Underwriting Ltd./Lloyd’s Syndicate 1036.
In the complaint, the United States alleges violations of federal safety and operational regulations, including:
- Failure to take necessary precautions to secure the Macondo Well prior to the April 20th explosion
- Failure to utilize the safest drilling technology to monitor the well’s condition
- Failure to maintain continuous surveillance of the well
- Failure to utilize and maintain equipment and materials that were available and necessary to ensure the safety and protection of personnel, property, natural resources, and the environment.
"We intend to prove that these violations caused or contributed to this massive oil spill, and that the defendants are therefore responsible–under the Oil Pollution Act–for government removal costs, economic losses, and environmental damages," U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters during a news conference.
"We are also seeking civil penalties under the Clean Water Act, which prohibits the unauthorized discharge of oil into the nation’s waters," Holder added. "We allege that the defendants named in this lawsuit were in violation of the Act throughout the months that oil was gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. And we intend to hold them fully accountable for their violations of the law."
The U.S. government has estimated that 4.9 million barrels of oil were released into the Gulf. If the federal court in New Orleans finds the companies guilty of gross negligence, a fine of up to $4,300 could be levied for each barrel. That would result in a fine of at least $21 billion.
However, BP lawyers argue that the government over-estimated the spill by 20% to 50%, according to Environment America.
“Now that attention is shifting from the spill itself, BP is no longer playing softball with the government and people in the Gulf in making reparations for their catastrophe; they’re playing hardball. Those with the most to lose are Gulf residents who would have their natural resources restored and livelihoods put back together by the fines," Mike Gravitz, Oceans Advocate for Environment America, said.
“Robert Dudley, the incoming BP CEO, first refused to meet with a key Congressional committee investigating the spill. Now the company says it is going to protest the federal estimate of the amount of oil spilled in the hopes that it can reduce its oil pollution fines by billions," Gravitz added.
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